Much of our educational system is based off of antiquated beliefs and economic systems. If educators want to move into the future, they must consider how the current system's structure is hurting learning.
An Agricultural System
Thomas Jefferson once said that he thought our government would remain virtuous for many centuries, "...as long as they are chiefly agricultural..." (Jefferson Monticello, 2011). This belief in the efficacy of agriculture has pervaded American society for centuries, persisting through the industrial revolution. Even today, when only 2% of Americans farm for a living, our schools are still ruled by the timetables created by agriculture (USDA Extension, 2011). The entire reason that summer vacation exists is so that students would have time to help their parents farm. The question thus arises, if only 2% of America is farmers, why are most of America's children receiving months of time off to farm?
Grade Levels
Grade levels like 2nd, 7th and junior year are nice for schools because they provide structure for how students will advance, what they will study when and grouping them with like-minded peers. The problem, however, is that students in the same grade are often at entirely different levels of knowledge when it comes to the various subjects they study. Suzie may be really good at math and blows through Algebra 1 while Jimmy struggles with it. At the same time, Jimmy may be able to read a book and write a report in one day while it takes Susie a few weeks. The point is that students do not learn the same material at the same rate, so why are they forced to learn the same material at the same time? Granted there are programs in many schools for advanced children to be in more challenging classes, even these systems sometimes do not offer enough flexibility. The Alliance for Excellent Education cites that 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade-level and that "on average, African-American and Hispanic twelfth grade students read at the same level as white eighth-grade students." Even more startling is the knowledge that "high school students’ ability to read complex texts is strongly predictive of their performance in college math and science courses" (2006).
Using Mastery Based Education to Help Students
Rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all grade-level mentality, schools should be basing education on the concept that "...all students can learn when provided with conditions appropriate to their situation" (Davis, Sorrell, 1995). This means that Suzie should be moved up to a more advanced math course that challenges her while Jimmy is brought down to one that he is more comfortable with. Some might consider this tracking, but in reality it is just individualizing instruction. In addition, by requiring students to attend school all year long, both Jimmy and Suzie would avoid forgetting topics and ideas over the long break and be able to improve their success.
Below is a video from Rick Wormeli describing what mastery learning is:
In addition to changing the classes students take, it might also be wise to reconsider the means by which we judge a student has successfully mastered a topic. Using the common core standards as a guide, the nation's educators can make common decisions on what are the most vital skills in a subject. Using Algebra 1 as an example, it might be required of students to display knowledge of distribution, graphing and solving 2 sided equations (list would be much longer in reality). The student would receive instruction in the skill of distribution, take an exam and if he or she received a specified percentage, they would be done with that topic and move onto graphing, then 2 sided equations, so on and so forth. If the student did not pass the distribution exam, however, he or she would be required to relearn the material and test again until they did meet the minimum requirements. With a method such as this in place, the possibility of students just being "passed on" would be eliminated and everyone would know beyond a doubt that the student really did know everything they were supposed to from that subject.
Using mastery based learning would mean that if a student masters geometry in 2 months, then he or she is done with it and does not have to wait until the end of the year to move onto the next topic. Therefore, if students are able to progress based solely on their ability to learn new information, there should be no rule requiring them to stay in a certain grade. In essence, grades would cease to exist as they do today. A student might be in (what we consider) 10th grade math, 4th grade reading, 7th grade science and 5th grade social studies all at the same time.
This situation is obviously more conducive to the student learning the individual subjects at the level that is appropriate for them, but at the same time the logistics of schooling would have to be overhauled drastically. Robinson states "...a change from traditional curriculum and instruction models and adoption of a new method will require major restructuring of how the schools are organized and how teachers are prepared and empowered" (as cited in Davis, et. al., 1995). Perhaps one day elementary, middle and high school will all be combined in one building where students are able to seamlessly receive instruction from teachers in topics ranging from elementary reading to high school calculus - entirely dependent on their own individualized need. Combining this system with year-around school would improve retention, mastery and achievement across the board.
As for effectiveness of mastery learning, Guskey and Gates asserted in 1986 that "achievement results were overwhelmingly positive" (as cited in Davis, et. al., 1995). The question then is how long until educators decide the time is right for change?
Mastery Based Education
Much of our educational system is based off of antiquated beliefs and economic systems. If educators want to move into the future, they must consider how the current system's structure is hurting learning.
An Agricultural System
Thomas Jefferson once said that he thought our government would remain virtuous for many centuries, "...as long as they are chiefly agricultural..." (Jefferson Monticello, 2011). This belief in the efficacy of agriculture has pervaded American society for centuries, persisting through the industrial revolution. Even today, when only 2% of Americans farm for a living, our schools are still ruled by the timetables created by agriculture (USDA Extension, 2011). The entire reason that summer vacation exists is so that students would have time to help their parents farm. The question thus arises, if only 2% of America is farmers, why are most of America's children receiving months of time off to farm?
Grade Levels
Grade levels like 2nd, 7th and junior year are nice for schools because they provide structure for how students will advance, what they will study when and grouping them with like-minded peers. The problem, however, is that students in the same grade are often at entirely different levels of knowledge when it comes to the various subjects they study. Suzie may be really good at math and blows through Algebra 1 while Jimmy struggles with it. At the same time, Jimmy may be able to read a book and write a report in one day while it takes Susie a few weeks. The point is that students do not learn the same material at the same rate, so why are they forced to learn the same material at the same time? Granted there are programs in many schools for advanced children to be in more challenging classes, even these systems sometimes do not offer enough flexibility. The Alliance for Excellent Education cites that 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade-level and that "on average, African-American and Hispanic twelfth grade students read at the same level as white eighth-grade students." Even more startling is the knowledge that "high school students’ ability to read complex texts is strongly predictive of their performance in college math and science courses" (2006).
Using Mastery Based Education to Help Students
Rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all grade-level mentality, schools should be basing education on the concept that "...all students can learn when provided with conditions appropriate to their situation" (Davis, Sorrell, 1995). This means that Suzie should be moved up to a more advanced math course that challenges her while Jimmy is brought down to one that he is more comfortable with. Some might consider this tracking, but in reality it is just individualizing instruction. In addition, by requiring students to attend school all year long, both Jimmy and Suzie would avoid forgetting topics and ideas over the long break and be able to improve their success.
Below is a video from Rick Wormeli describing what mastery learning is:
In addition to changing the classes students take, it might also be wise to reconsider the means by which we judge a student has successfully mastered a topic. Using the common core standards as a guide, the nation's educators can make common decisions on what are the most vital skills in a subject. Using Algebra 1 as an example, it might be required of students to display knowledge of distribution, graphing and solving 2 sided equations (list would be much longer in reality). The student would receive instruction in the skill of distribution, take an exam and if he or she received a specified percentage, they would be done with that topic and move onto graphing, then 2 sided equations, so on and so forth. If the student did not pass the distribution exam, however, he or she would be required to relearn the material and test again until they did meet the minimum requirements. With a method such as this in place, the possibility of students just being "passed on" would be eliminated and everyone would know beyond a doubt that the student really did know everything they were supposed to from that subject.
The Ramifications of Mastery Learning
Using mastery based learning would mean that if a student masters geometry in 2 months, then he or she is done with it and does not have to wait until the end of the year to move onto the next topic. Therefore, if students are able to progress based solely on their ability to learn new information, there should be no rule requiring them to stay in a certain grade. In essence, grades would cease to exist as they do today. A student might be in (what we consider) 10th grade math, 4th grade reading, 7th grade science and 5th grade social studies all at the same time.
This situation is obviously more conducive to the student learning the individual subjects at the level that is appropriate for them, but at the same time the logistics of schooling would have to be overhauled drastically. Robinson states "...a change from traditional curriculum and instruction models and adoption of a new method will require major restructuring of how the schools are organized and how teachers are prepared and empowered" (as cited in Davis, et. al., 1995). Perhaps one day elementary, middle and high school will all be combined in one building where students are able to seamlessly receive instruction from teachers in topics ranging from elementary reading to high school calculus - entirely dependent on their own individualized need. Combining this system with year-around school would improve retention, mastery and achievement across the board.
As for effectiveness of mastery learning, Guskey and Gates asserted in 1986 that "achievement results were overwhelmingly positive" (as cited in Davis, et. al., 1995). The question then is how long until educators decide the time is right for change?
Next: Designing the Learning Environment